Wright L Kate, Catavero Christina M, Newman Dina L
Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 14623
Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 14623.
CBE Life Sci Educ. 2017 Fall;16(3). doi: 10.1187/cbe.17-03-0046.
Although instruction on meiosis is repeated many times during the undergraduate curriculum, many students show poor comprehension even as upper-level biology majors. We propose that the difficulty lies in the complexity of understanding DNA, which we explain through a new model, the The DNA triangle integrates three distinct scales at which one can think about DNA: , , and Through analysis of interview and survey data from biology faculty and students through the lens of the DNA triangle, we illustrate important differences in how novices and experts are able to explain the concepts of , , and Similarly, analysis of passages from 16 different biology textbooks shows a large divide between introductory and advanced material, with introductory books omitting explanations of meiosis-linked concepts at the level of DNA. Finally, backed by textbook findings and feedback from biology experts, we show that the DNA triangle can be applied to teaching and learning meiosis. By applying the DNA triangle to topics on meiosis we present a new framework for educators and researchers that ties concepts of ploidy, homology, and mechanism of homologous pairing to knowledge about DNA on the chromosomal, molecular, and informational levels.
尽管减数分裂的教学在本科课程中重复了很多次，但许多学生，即使是高年级的生物学专业学生，理解能力也很差。我们认为困难在于理解DNA的复杂性，我们通过一个新模型——DNA三角形来解释这一点。DNA三角形整合了三种不同的尺度，人们可以从这些尺度来思考DNA：染色体尺度、分子尺度和信息尺度。通过从DNA三角形的角度分析生物学教师和学生的访谈及调查数据，我们说明了新手和专家在解释倍性、同源性和同源配对机制等概念时的重要差异。同样，对16本不同生物学教科书段落的分析表明，入门材料和高级材料之间存在很大差距，入门书籍在DNA的染色体水平上省略了与减数分裂相关概念的解释。最后，在教科书研究结果和生物学专家反馈的支持下，我们表明DNA三角形可应用于减数分裂的教学和学习。通过将DNA三角形应用于减数分裂主题，我们为教育工作者和研究人员提供了一个新框架，将倍性、同源性和同源配对机制的概念与染色体、分子和信息层面的DNA知识联系起来。
